# Why an expensive pipe?



## parris001 (Mar 29, 2008)

First, let me state I don't intend to insult or enrage. I just need to be educated.

Why is an expensive pipe so much better than a well made estate that I can pick up for $15? Do they really smoke that much better? Is it a prestige thing, because I can understand that. Some of the Petersons and Dunhills look very impressive. 

I'm just asking before I shell out $100+ for a pipe that smokes no better than my Algerian Briar.


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## Infin1ty (May 12, 2007)

parris001 said:


> First, let me state I don't intend to insult or enrage. I just need to be educated.
> 
> Why is an expensive pipe so much better than a well made estate that I can pick up for $15? Do they really smoke that much better? Is it a prestige thing, because I can understand that. Some of the Petersons and Dunhills look very impressive.
> 
> I'm just asking before I shell out $100+ for a pipe that smokes no better than my Algerian Briar.


An expensive pipe is not always better than an estate pipe that you can pick up. If you haven't been smoking for long, trust me, there is no point in shelling out $100+ for a pipe. If I were you I would look around e-bay for some good deals. I picked up my first pipe for around $10, brand new, and I love it. Pick you pipe because you like it, and not because of the value, and you will be set.


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## hunter1127 (Jan 11, 2006)

Currently have about 30 pipes and at least 25 were bought on Ebay for less than $20; these include Petersons, a Nording, Kriswell, Hardcastle ( Dunhill second), etc. I'd just take my time and surf the auctions, place some bids, you won't be sorry.


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## parris001 (Mar 29, 2008)

I currently have 20 estates in my collection (mostly eBay purchases) but was considering an expensive pipe _IF _I could justify the expense. Seems I'll stick with my bargain shopping methods......


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## Infin1ty (May 12, 2007)

parris001 said:


> I currently have 20 estates in my collection (mostly eBay purchases) but was considering an expensive pipe _IF _I could justify the expense. Seems I'll stick with my bargain shopping methods......


Honestly, unless you find an expensive pipe that absolutely love, I wouldn't even bother, just stick with you inexpensive e-bay pipes.


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## The Pirate (May 20, 2007)

Well it is the old "different strokes for different folks" thing. It is a personal decision. It depends on what you want from the hobby and what you are willing to invest. There are great smoking pipes at bargain prices almost everywhere you look. There are also fine one-of-a-kind more expensive hand crafted pipes. You can get a $6 MM cob and have a very nice smoking pipe. You can spend mega bucks for a Dunhill and have a finely and flawlessly made pipe with a fine reputation and a lot of prestige. It just depends on what you want and what it is worth to you. Price, however, has little to do with smoking quality, IMHO.
Ken


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## Quick_nick (Feb 10, 2008)

If you want a brand new pipe 100 bucks will get you a mighty fine one. Like most things are what you pay for but sometimes you get lucky with a cheapy or unlucky with a higher end. The more expensive a pipe means it was made with better briar and it was made by hand. Most private makers are very meticulous about their pipes and won't let one out that is not close to 100% perfect, however these can run from 300 bucks to over a grand. Savinelli, Peterson, and Bjarne are all very nice for around or under 100 bucks. I just baought a Sav. Tundra 320 EX and although it hasn't arrived yet I know I'll love it. Really it just depends on how picky you are and what you can afford.


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## PipesandGOP (Feb 7, 2008)

I have to agree with what's pretty much been the going attitude... of the two pipes I have my 60 dollar benton smokes just as well as my new bjarne (really fine, well made pipe and a good price) even though it cost a bit more... both smoke incredibly cool and dry which is funny because my friend that works at my b&m has let me smoke "higher end" estate pipes they've gotten in that were just as good smokers if not less enjoyable in a few instances. Granted there are some differences.. the benton's bit lost its luster a bit faster but thats about it... both pass the pipe cleaner test, have nice thick walls, pack a great bowl, and had a great break in period if you could even really say they needed one that bad.


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

For some, it seems, the pipe is the center of the activity. For others, it's the tobacco. The oinly reason I have pipes is so I can enjoy tobaks. That said, I do have dirt cheap cobs and several not so cheap briars. I most often smoke tobaks in a cheapie. Nothing quite like Penzance in a well used cob.


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## jgros001 (Jun 14, 2005)

billhud said:


> For some, it seems, the pipe is the center of the activity. For others, it's the tobacco. The oinly reason I have pipes is so I can enjoy tobaks. That said, I do have dirt cheap cobs and several not so cheap briars. I most often smoke tobaks in a cheapie. Nothing quite like Penzance in a well used cob.


I am so sick and tired of the backhand comments. The price someone pays for a pipe has no bearing on the center of the activity and whether the pipe is important or the tobak.

YOU SMOKE CHEAP PIPES........GOOD FOR YOU!! We got it, thanks!


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## Ego Archive (Jun 9, 2008)

I have a few "higher end" pipes, and they are consistently good smokers, but I didn't pay the higher price for that reason, because honestly I have lower end pipes that are consistently good smokers as well. I have spent the higher prices on pipes because in addition to quality engineering, they are doing something artistic that I really like.

I buy Rad Davis, because I can't find factory pipes that do blasts anything like he does. I buy Stephen Downie because he will carve what I was asking for, and make it look better then I imagined it could...and it goes on like that.

It your just looking for a Smoking instrument that will deliver quality bowls, I'd stay with the GBD's Savinelli, Stanwells, Peterson, Hardcastle and Bjarne, even Butz-Choquin's, and Kaywoodies have some good quality lines.


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

Personally - I like perfect grained pipes. Yes, its a vanity, nothing but eye candy, but I like the grain to be nice looking, straight up the bowl, and tapering off the stem. Birdseye and whorls a plenty. Of course the nicer the grain, the pricier the pipe. On the other side of the tamper, a more expensive pipe tends to have better craftsmanship. So it kinda works out for me - it looks like I want it, and it (usually) smokes well too.

That being said, I also buy cheaper pipes only because they are too good a price to pass up. Some cheaper pipes smoke really well, some really suck - but sometimes they improve after some "mods". Drilling a larger airhole, altering the bit inlet, even changing the bit.

Note, my idea of "pricey" is $99 - I have not (and never will) pay more than a C note for a pipe. I have 4 Bjarnes all under a bill, all look and smoke as perfect as humanly possible. The passing of Bjarne Neilsen was a great tragedy, I have not seen any new pipes come out in months from this maker.


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## jgros001 (Jun 14, 2005)

I hate to take away from the original intent of the thread but there is a great entry in the Downie Pipe Blog (http://www.downiepipes.com/blog.html)....check the December 10, 2007 entry.

And to the original point, I think the determination on how a pipe will smoke is best left to the individual. You need to smoke a pipe to determine if it is better, no one, not even billhud can tell you the answer. Smoke the pipe and then decide if it was worth it.


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## tzilt (Nov 20, 2007)

I agree with the sentiment that a more expensive pipe is more likely to be a good pipe and less expensive pipes are more likely to be lemons. Thats true with just about anything though. And, if you keep your eyes open, you can find all sorts of deals. Its not as though price is the only barometer of quality.

Also, I would guess that diminishing returns sets in right away... A $75 pipe is _probably _waaaay nicer than a $10 pipe, but a $2,000 pipe is probably not proportionally that much of a better smoker than a $100 pipe. That is also true for just about anything... A $50 bottle of scotch will blow away a $5 bottle of gutrot...but unless you are a conisseur, you might have a hard time telling the difference between a $50 bottle and a $500 bottle.

I have a few entry level 'nice' pipes, all sub-$100. To me, these are expensive pipes. They look a little nicer and smoke a little better than my $20 basket pipe. But my favorite pipe is an estate I got on ebay for $10 or so. What makes it my favorite? Its not that it is objectively 'better'...its all mental...its what I think/feel about the pipe.


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## Don Fernando (Jan 1, 2000)

(shrug)

One man has a Monet above his couch .... another has Elvis on black velvet. Both do well to cover up the nasty stain hiding beneith them......
......but you have to admit that there's just something about that Monet. :tu 

Thing is .... were you to trade one for the other, it very well may be that niether is too happy with the new look.

Smoke what you like and like what you smoke.


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## dls (Aug 3, 2007)

tzilt said:


> I agree
> ...its what I think/feel about the pipe.


Excellent post! Obviously, price never has a direct effect on quality, but in my, admittedly limited, experience, you do generally get what you pay for. That being said, I strongly agree that there are serious diminishing returns, and there's no reason that a well made mid level pipe can't smoke as well as a high end premium brand. It all comes down to the craftsmanship and the materials of each individual pipe. Finding perfect grain in a block of briar is very rare, meaning it will take a much greater amount of briar in order to yield one flawless pipe, where as that same amount of briar could have produced multiple pipes with perhaps small imperfections. This inherent imperfection of briar will inevitably drive up the cost of pipes perceived as "superior", due either to aesthetics or actual smoking qualities. So uhh yeah, it all comes down to personal preference.


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## pierredekat (Mar 7, 2007)

It's not that one thing is better than another thing. Just that different things suit different tastes.


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

A $7.00 Amphora bulldog from ebay was a weekend ream, steam & clean project. It came out smoking clean, cool and dry after some sweat equity and a break in. The wood isn't pretty, it's a pleasure to puff and I'm not afraid to stick it in my back pocket. My experience with "expensive" pipes and "cheap" pipes says price and smoking quality don't necessarily relate in the estate or the new pipe game. A few hundred clams for a pipe might insure a pretty grain but it won't guarantee a cool bowl. Uh uh.


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## Sir Humpsalot (Feb 20, 2008)

jgros001 said:


> I am so sick and tired of the backhand comments. The price someone pays for a pipe has no bearing on the center of the activity and whether the pipe is important or the tobak.
> 
> YOU SMOKE CHEAP PIPES........GOOD FOR YOU!! We got it, thanks!


I didn't read any backhanded comment into what he said. The man said he enjoys the tobak more than the pipe and so he enjoys cobs. Heck, I was about to chime in and reply that I tried to smoke Escudo out of a small Tsuge the other day and dumped it before the coin was half gone. Displeased, I then stuffed a coin into a Nording and it was even more displeased! I had 4 puffs on it and gave up- the flavor just wasn't right. Then, feeling sick at having wasted 2 coins of escudo, I went back to the Escudo in a cob and it was sublime.

However, my Bright CR Flake just goes in my Nording now. I've resigned myself to the fact that that pipe is just made for milder VA's. But, truth be told, VA's taste pretty good in a cob too.

Anyway, aren't you the one who always responds to billhud's posts by accusing him of making back handed comments about briars? I could swear this is about the third or fourth time I've read a complaint following one of his posts and thought to myself, "WTH is that guy ranting about? I don't see any backhanded or negative comments there..."


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## dogsplayinpoker (Jan 23, 2007)

Don't know about cheap pipes. Haven't bought one in a few years
Seriously though, I have been burned by cheapo pipes a couple times and now I would rather save my money and wait to buy the pipes I enjoy. I now own "only" 15 pipes but every last one of them was an excellent pipe from the start.
Do YOU like the pipe and does it produce a quality smoking experience?
I buy from a few makers that affirm that question for me.


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## tzilt (Nov 20, 2007)

Mister Moo said:


> A $7.00 Amphora bulldog from ebay was a weekend ream, steam & clean project.


I get the ream, I get the clean...but I am stumped on the steam. Whyfore the steam Mr. Moo?


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

tzilt said:


> I get the ream, I get the clean...but I am stumped on the steam. Whyfore the steam Mr. Moo?


Maybe he steam cleaned his carpets after the reaming made a mess p


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

tzilt said:


> Whyfore the steam Mr. Moo?


Pipe wash: read post #54 and retort.


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

jgros001 said:


> I am so sick and tired of the backhand comments. The price someone pays for a pipe has no bearing on the center of the activity and whether the pipe is important or the tobak.
> 
> YOU SMOKE CHEAP PIPES........GOOD FOR YOU!! We got it, thanks!


No backhand comment. Itss a simple fact that for some the pipe is nothing (or is little) more than a tool used to smoke tobacco. For others it's an important, and often the center, aspect of the endeavor. I happen to be in the former (if it weren't for the quality tobaks, I'd not own a single pipe regardless of price point. I know some guys who've smoked seriously for decades and only own inexpensive but good smokers.). On the other side, many happen to be in the latter (I know one guy who owns dozens of good pipes and almost never smokes any). That's just the way it is.

As an aside, I smoke some not so cheap pipes too (just not as often). Again that's just the way it is.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

A little off subject here - The first three years I smoked I bought only pipes in the $50 - $70 range. Now I have enough pipes to cover all my bases and rather than getting a new one of these every two or three months maybe now I'll settle for a pair of more expensive pipes every five or six months. In some cases the pipe itself adds so much to the moment of a fine smoke. Its like two good things at once................ your favorite tabak and a piece of thought provoking wooden art nestled in your hand.


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## parris001 (Mar 29, 2008)

monsoon said:


> (shrug)
> 
> One man has a Monet above his couch .... another has Elvis on black velvet. Both do well to cover up the nasty stain hiding beneith them......
> ......but you have to admit that there's just something about that Monet. :tu
> ...


I think this one answers my original question, and it really made me laugh. Thanks for all the advise!


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## Mr.Lordi (May 20, 2007)

these are the pipes I have

Dr.Grabow big bowl X2 
Dr.Grabow 2003 collectors ed.
No Name Oom Paul
No Name Bent
meerschaum
Savinelli straight silver band
Savinelli Big bowl straight 


The most expensive of those pipes, was the silver band Sav, which I paid 50 bucks or so.

Not one of them really smokes better then the others, although the Big Bowl Sav isn't that great a puffer.

My fav out of all those? the no name Oom Paul that my parents bought me at a yard sale for 5 bucks. I cleaned it up and it is my pride and joy. 

So it really isn't about the cost, its a lot more to it.

My philosophy, if a pipe is 100 bucks or more, its a collectors item and you probably shouldn't be putting tobacco in it. lol Although at some point I liked to be able to afford a Peterson.


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## dayplanner (Dec 11, 1997)

Sir Humpsalot said:


> Anyway, aren't you the one who always responds to billhud's posts by accusing him of making back handed comments about briars? I could swear this is about the third or fourth time I've read a complaint following one of his posts and thought to myself, "WTH is that guy ranting about? I don't see any backhanded or negative comments there..."


Given your newbie status, you've probably missed some of the fun we've had with billhud over the months. I sometime wonder if that's whats driven so many of the original founding members away in fact. Lord knows I haven't checked in here since the last great cob debate.

As to the original poster, why not? Pipe making is an art form, having something pleasing to the eye certainly enhances *my* experience opposed to holding a hollow piece of corn. I've also found that some of my more expensive pipes smoke leaps and bounds better than the cheap pipes I started with. Again, that's *my* experience with pipes, yours may differ. I've since gotten rid of most of my cheapies and moved. I buy less pipes now, but when I do buy it's going to be top quality.

I sometimes wonder why some people bother buying corvettes and such when they could just as easily pay less than half as much and get a kia. Both get you from point A to point B lol.


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## Quick_nick (Feb 10, 2008)

I always say if it blows your skirt up you should get it no matter how much it is. It really doesn't matter what others think, "one mans trash is another mans treasure."


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## MithShrike (Jan 29, 2007)

Right now my two favorite pipes are a Bjarne and a Rocky Hale, both churchwardens. The Bjarne I got at an event here at the Mesa Tinderbox for $67 after tax and I really enjoyed Bjarne's company. Rocky is a local artisan that I smoke with at the Tinderbox and his work just keep getting better. Mine is marked RH30. The Rocky Hale I got for $130 or so after tax. Completely worth it to me. I'm thinking of having Rock make me another. I just like the fact that I'm supporting a local artisan and that I can get a pipe to my liking.


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## superpelic (Jun 4, 2008)

Just like clothes (do i spell this right ?).


Sometimes you need to wear a more formal expensive shirt, it's not better it's just the brand or it looks a bit better or flashy.
Same with a pipe, when i go in to a pipe shop and I see a very nice pipe it happens to be always the most expensive one.
But if i like it, I buy it.


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

BOTTOM LINE: First you have to figure out why you smoke pipes (if you haven't already done so) and go from there.


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## Ego Archive (Jun 9, 2008)

I figure a box of cigars can cost you between $100-200 for mid-higher grades, if your going for something like Graycliffs or Tatuaje at CI it can be much more expensive, if your buying at a B&M I can't imagine what they run. A $100-150 pipe, with a pound of G. L. Pease tobacco ($40), is about the same amount (possibly a bit less)of smoking, and you keep the pipe at the end.


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## pistol (Mar 23, 2006)

billhud said:


> BOTTOM LINE: First you have to figure out why you smoke pipes (if you haven't already done so) and go from there.


I love smoking my favorite blends in my "expensive" pipes(they are expensive relative to cobs, but not very expensive when you look at briars as a whole). Most of my pipes are between $75 and $400, and they are all great smokers. They are all very pleasing to my eyes, and they feel great in my hands. I wouldn't trade them for the world. Why do I have to smoke cheap pipes if the tobac is important to me? It seems to me that you are saying good pipes and good tobac are mutually exclusive. I don't believe that they are; why can't having both high grade pipes and high grade tobacs be important to me?


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

I normally wouldn't chime in on this but its starting to get annoying. Different people have different tastes, different physical ability to taste. Dried carbon inside a bowl will only empart flavors that have been absorbed by previous smoking to the current smoke but regardless of that different people are going to pick up different qualities from a smoke. Some qualities are going to be missing for some people or present for others. IMO briar has no taste, but cobs and meerschaum do. I like SG virginias but I couldn't care less if I never see another tin of Escudo because I just find it plain (or McClellands which I absolutely despise). Does that mean briar pipes and SG tabak is more pure or just plain better? Why can't other people understand that SG VAs have a more pure and superior taste? Maybe because their tastes are different than mine. Smoke what you like and like what you smoke and try to be humble enough to respect that all people don't see things the same way even if their motivations for the hobby are the same.


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

pistol said:


> Why do I have to smoke cheap pipes if the tobac is important to me?


Do don't, just as no one needs to smoke expensive pipes if pipes are little more than tools to them. That's the entire point.


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## Blaylock-cl (Apr 28, 2006)

parris001 said:


> Why is an expensive pipe so much better than a well made estate that I can pick up for $15? Do they really smoke that much better?


I have a range of pipes from cobs to fairly expensive briars. Some smoke better than others, but if I lined then up from left to right by cost, the more expensive ones wouldn't necessarily be the better smokers.

When buying a new pipe, it's hard to tell how it'll smoke before you buy it and smoke it. What I do is judge a pipe on 3 things.

1. Mechanics: Check out how it is made. I check the airway from the stem to the bowl. Check the draft hole to see if it's centered and in the bottom of the bowl and test how it draws. Also check for cracks, pits, fills, flaws, etc.

2. Aesthetics: How does the pipe look to you? How does it feel in your hand? Cobs are good for getting a feel for different shapes and size pipes. Does the pipe fit your personality...do you want something conservative or over-the top?

3. Price: Buy what you like and can afford. If you constantly regret how much you spent for it everytime you go to smoke it, then it's probably not worth buying it.

Everytime I buy a new pipe over the internet, I cross my fingers that it will meet my expectations. Buying from an artist with a good reputation may cost a little more, but hopefully will be a good quality pipe. It's hard to shell out alot of money only to find you're disappointed with it. Make sure that you can return it if it has problems or if you just don't like it.


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